Various types of computing, entertainment, and/or mobile devices can be implemented with a near-eye transparent or semi-transparent display. Near-eye displays may include a transparent or semi-transparent display through which a user may view the surrounding environment, and also see images of virtual objects (e.g., text, graphics, video, etc.) that are generated on the display to appear as a part of, and/or overlaid upon, the surrounding environment.
Near-eye displays have conventionally been implemented using spatial light modulation (SLM) systems including for example liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display engines and digital light processing (DLP) display engines for generating an image. LCoS and DLP display systems project all pixels in an image simultaneously, modulating the amplitude, phase, intensity or polarization of light across the image. Another emerging technology is microelectromechanical (MEMS) laser scanners. MEMS laser scanners conventionally include a laser light source including for example red, green and blue laser diodes directing RGB laser light to a MEMS mirror capable of deflection about two orthogonal axes.
In contrast to LCoS and DLP displays, MEMS laser scanners typically generate a two-dimensional raster scan image pixel by pixel for each image frame. The laser light source is synchronized with the bi-axial MEMS mirror drivers so that bi-axial deflection of the MEMS mirror directs laser light from the light source to the respective pixels in the raster scan, as the RGB laser light for each pixel is modulated to thus generate the desired light content of each pixel in the image.
The bi-axial range of motion of the MEMS mirror in a near-eye display laser scanner establishes the size of the field of view (FOV) that the laser scanner can generate. However, various factors impede the pivoting range of motion of a MEMS mirror during the scanning of an image frame. These factors include for example the mass of the MEMS mirror, as well as the opposing forces of air (or other gas) against the mirror surface as it pivots. Currently, MEMS mirrors in near-eye display laser scanners commonly achieve a range of motion of about 30 degrees, and an FOV of about 35 degrees.